Rescheduling, Canceling, and No-Shows

Life at the front desk means schedules change constantly. This article walks you through how to reschedule or cancel a booked appointment in Dental Marketing Tool and how to properly mark a patient as a no-show so your calendar and patient record stay accurate.

Finding the Appointment

All booked appointments are visible in the Calendars tab. You can view them in day, week, or month layout depending on what gives you the clearest picture of your schedule. Click any appointment block to open its detail panel on the right side of the screen.

You can also reach an appointment through a patient's record in the Contacts tab. Open the patient, scroll to their appointment history, and click the upcoming visit from there.

Rescheduling an Appointment

1. Open the Calendars tab and locate the appointment you need to move.
2. Click the appointment block to open the detail panel.
3. Click Edit Appointment (or the pencil icon, depending on your view).
4. Update the date and time to the new slot. The calendar will show your available times based on your current office hours and availability settings.
5. Click Save to confirm the change.

Once saved, the appointment moves to the new time on your calendar and the patient's record is updated automatically. If you have automated appointment reminders running, the system will use the updated date and time going forward so patients receive accurate notifications.

Canceling an Appointment

1. Click the appointment to open its detail panel.
2. Click Cancel Appointment.
3. You will be prompted to confirm. Some calendar setups also let you add a cancellation note for internal reference.
4. Click Confirm Cancellation.

The appointment is removed from the calendar and the time slot opens back up. The cancellation is logged on the patient's contact record so you have a history of their scheduling activity.

Marking a Patient as a No-Show

When a patient misses their appointment without calling, you should mark it rather than simply deleting it. This keeps an accurate record on their contact profile.

1. Click the appointment in the Calendars tab.
2. In the detail panel, look for the Status field or a dropdown showing appointment outcomes.
3. Select No-Show from the options.
4. Click Save or Update.

The appointment stays visible on the calendar (often with a distinct color or label) and the no-show status is written to the patient's record. Over time, this helps the front desk spot patients who may need a follow-up call or a firmer reminder strategy before their next visit.

Following Up After a Cancellation or No-Show

Once you have updated the appointment status, it is good practice to reach out to the patient and get them back on the schedule. You can do this right from the platform without switching tools.

• Open the Conversations tab and find the patient's thread.
• Send a short text or email to check in and offer to get them rescheduled.
• If your team uses saved reply templates, a quick "We missed you today" message takes only a few seconds to send.

For practices with a lot of schedule changes, the patient pipeline in Contacts is a useful way to track which patients are in a "needs to reschedule" stage so nothing falls through the cracks.

Keeping Your Calendar Clean

Staying on top of reschedules and no-shows keeps your availability accurate for both your team and any patients booking online through your booking link or website widget. A slot that looks occupied but is actually a no-show will prevent real patients from booking, so updating statuses promptly is worth the few extra seconds it takes.

For related setup topics, see Automated Appointment Reminders to reduce no-shows in the first place, or Setting Your Office Hours and Availability if you need to adjust when patients can book online.